The Rhinos nearly stole three points on Saturday in Richmond, when Alex Dixon's 89th-minute goal gave them a 1-0 lead before the Kickers tied it a minute later to earn a draw in Virginia. "We played really well. I was proud of the guys," coach Bob Lilley said. It's never good to give up a lead, let alone one that late, and now Rochester has done it twice, allowing a 94th-minute goal in Dayton a few weeks ago to turn a win into another 1-1 tie. That's four points wasted. However, to play a quality Richmond squad even up in their park was a good showing by these young Rhinos, who are 2-1-2 and really could be headed home on a high if they can escape with a win at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 12th-place Wilmington (1-1-1). "It was out best game so far. We played well for 90 minutes," Lilley said. "Best we passed it, best we defended and our best focus. I just felt everyone came ready to play."

The Western New York Flash (1-1) better show up with enough to win on Saturday night. Not grabbing three points in your home opener would be bad, especially coming off a loss and especially because the opponent, Portland, while 2-0-1, is nowhere near full strength. The defending NWSL champion Thorns are missing four key players: U.S. national team starters Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath and Rachel Van Hollebeke and Spanish playmaker, Vero Boquete, the MVP of WPS in 2011 with Philadelphia. If you can't beat Portland now, how do you expect to do it when the Thorns are operating at full capacity? You want to keep your rep as an NWSL contender this year, you need to win this match. If you want fans to start wondering, "What's wrong in WNY?" then anything less than three points on Saturday night will begin the speculation. Yes, the Flash will be without suspended Carli Lloyd, but they still have a lot more firepower than Portland. The last two FIFA World Players of the Year - WNY forward Abby Wambach (2012) and Portland goalie Nadine Angerer (2013) - will be on the field. That's pretty special for fans. Abby making her season debut in the home opener is, too. Lloyd's absence due to the overly harsh decision by the NWSL to suspend her for two matches should open the door for new Spanish midfielders like Vicky Losada and Sonia Bermudez to make their mark. Samantha Kerr and Adriana need to play better, too, because possession in the midfield and service is really the only way to get Wambach involved. Lose the midfield, lose Wambach's presence and you probably lose the game. If Angela Salem can anchor things from her D-mid spot, WNY should be OK, but its attacking corps needs to show up and be active.

NWSL CLOSED PRACTICES? DUMB MOVE: I was told late Thursday night that Portland's practice on Friday morning was "closed to the media." I like coach Paul Riley, I really do. I think he's a good coach and I love the colorful way in which the Englishman speaks. I go way back with him to the days of the A-League and him bringing the Long Island Rough Riders to Rochester to face the Rhinos. But to not give the media ANY access to practice while it's going on is just over-the-top paranoia and the NWSL should do something about it. You're trying to grow your sport and grow the league, right? Then let the media do its job - the people like me who want to cover your sport like it's the NFL - and get video of training. I'm not saying I needed to watch all 90 minutes of practice, but in order for me to do my job correctly, which these days includes shooting video, I need to be able to get some action footage. So I need 10-15 minutes in there to get what's called "B-roll" to use in my video. Let's hope in other markets where there just might be enough interest in the NWSL this changes.